Not all acute lower back pain is benign--paravertebral abscess and colonic cancer.

Low back pain with sciatica is one of the most common complaints of patients presenting to the ED, and it is usually managed on an outpatient basis. However, acute lower back pain not always derives from a benign cause. We report here the case of a 63-year-old diabetic man who presented to the ED complaining of acute low back pain with sciatica and fever.

Spontaneous splenic rupture after the start of lung cancer chemotherapy. A case report.

Hamartoma of the spleen, first described by Rokitansky in 1861 under the name of "splenoma", is a rare benign lesion that is nearly always asymptomatic. Apart from the congenital forms there are also acquired forms of splenoma that are frequently associated with hematological diseases or solid tumors. We describe the case of a man suffering from splenoma who had a spontaneous rupture of the spleen with serious hemoperitoneum a few hours after the start of polychemotherapy for squamous cell lung cancer.

Oral rehydration solution containing rice maltodextrins in patients with total colectomy and high intestinal output.

Oral rehydration solutions containing rice maltodextrins (R-ORS) have been reported to be more effective than glucose-based ORS in reducing intestinal losses in infectious diarrhea. To evaluate the effect of R-ORS in patients with total colectomy and high intestinal output, a perspective open noncontrolled study was performed on 13 adult patients who consumed 1 l/day of R-ORS for 7 days. Body weight, daily ileal and urinary output, serum electrolytes, aldosterone and renin activity were measured the day before (day 0) and on the last day of the study (day 7).

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in adults receiving lipid-based home parenteral nutrition.

Background: Infusion of lipid emulsions rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may increase lipid peroxidation, which is counteracted mainly by superoxide dismutase (SOD) (a zinc-, copper-, and manganese-dependent enzyme), selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (Se-GSHPx), and alpha-tocopherol.

Objective: We investigated lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) providing variable amounts of a lipid emulsion rich in PUFAs, and alpha-tocopherol, zinc, copper, and manganese as recommended by the American Medical Association, and no selenium.

Design: Serum malondialdehyde, plasma alpha-tocopherol, selenium, Se-GSHPx, PUFAs, and red blood cell Se-GSHPx and SOD were evaluated in 12 patients and in 25 healthy control subjects.

Bone turnover in patients on home parenteral nutrition: a longitudinal observation by biochemical markers.

In order to characterize biochemical markers of bone turnover in home parenteral nutrition(HPN) patients, 8 adult patients on HPN for benign intestinal failure were studied at 0, 6 and 12 months by evaluating serum osteocalcin (bone formation marker), urinary hydroxylysyl pyridinoline, lysyl pyridinoline and beta-galactosyl hydroxylysine (bone resorption markers), serum PTH, Calcitonin, 25 vitD, 1-25vitD, serum and urinary minerals, body weight, rehabilitation degree and HPN characteristics. Three patients entered the study 2-3 months after the beginning of HPN. Their features of bone turnover were homogeneous, characterized by increased resorption associated with normal or increased formation, at baseline, and normalization of resorption associated with an increase or a parallel decrease of formation, at 6 months.